


Death Gods of the Sea

by SlowMercury



Category: Bleach, Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Community: no_true_pair, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Jossed, Past Relationship(s), soul society - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:30:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3215915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlowMercury/pseuds/SlowMercury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yoruichi's face had neither her serene mask nor her manic grin, and that more than anything else told Will there was something seriously wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Death Gods of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains some spoilers for the early arcs of Bleach ( _It was his sled!_ ) and spoilers for the end of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, but it also contains a lot of what turned out to be inaccurate speculation.

Yoruichi’s face had neither her serene mask nor her manic grin, and that more than anything else told Will there was something seriously wrong. She stood on the dock next to the _Flying Dutchman_ , which had just unloaded the latest crop of drowned sailors into Soul Society.

“Hello, Yoruichi,” Will said, and added nothing more. Usually he’d have followed up with an invitation aboard for a drink of rum, although he’d never developed Jack’s love for it; today he just waited. She’d tell him what was bothering her or not, and there wasn’t anything he could do that would influence her decision either way.

“Hello, Captain Turner,” she replied. Will frowned further at the formality but simply continued to wait. She must have made up her mind, because she appeared onboard so fast he didn’t see her move. They stared at one another in silence on the _Flying Dutchman’s_ empty deck.

“I don’t know what to do,” Yoruichi growled at last.

It wasn’t a surprise that Yoruichi had problems and doubts – she was a high ranking death god in charge of the secret police, no one could reach that position without facing a few bumps in the road – but it _was_ a surprise that she would bring her problems to him. They’d been casual lovers on and off in the decades since she’d dragged him away from Elizabeth’s wake and screwed him senseless in an attempt to cheer him up, but they had never really been friends. Half the time, Will wasn’t sure if he even liked her. 

But he did know her well enough to realize she hated appearing uncertain, much less asking for help.

So instead of gaping at her witlessly, Will asked carefully, “What’s the situation?”

“Urahara’s in trouble,” she told him bluntly. “He broke the laws of Soul Society, and they’re going to execute him.” Her golden eyes fixed on him, trying to read his reaction. Will kept his face blank; he was years and lifetimes away from the young boy who’d worn his heart on his sleeve.

“Go on,” he said. 

“He’s always been brilliant,” Yoruichi said. “Most people don’t realize how many useful things he’s invented. But this time he created something he shouldn’t have.” Will got the impression that she really wanted to be pacing right now, and only her nonchalant image was preventing her. “It’s a work of genius, of course, but...” She trailed off, trying again to read Will’s feelings from his expression.

“What was it?” Will asked patiently. 

“It’s a gigai,” she said finally. “It drains the power of any shinigami who uses it until they’re indistinguishable from humans.”

“I see,” Will said, and he did. The reactionaries of Soul Society would be incensed at the idea that there was anything that could rob them of their powers and leave them as helpless as the humans many of them secretly despised.

“His trial will probably last a few more months,” Yoruichi continued. “If he’s lucky, it might go as long as another year. He’s going to lose, and then they’re going to kill him.”

“So,” Will said. “You must acknowledge the right of Soul Society to try and execute Kisuke Urahara for his crimes, or you deny the very laws you swore to protect as the chief of the secret police and the captain of the 2nd Division of Soul Society.” 

Yoruichi blinked. She hadn’t, Will thought cynically, _really_ expected him to understand. Perhaps she had just wanted to vent to someone outside the usual chain of command. 

“But Urahara is your friend,” Will continued, watching Yoruichi carefully. “And you don’t think he deserves to die.” It was perilously close to accusing Yoruichi of treason.

“No,” Yoruichi hissed. _“I don’t know what to do.”_

“Easy,” Will replied with sympathy but without mercy. “You have a choice: You uphold a law you think unjust, or you break it.”

Yoruichi stared at him, cat eyes wide in astonishment that gave way first to comprehension, then to a familiar manic determination and an unsettling smile. 

“And of course,” Will added quietly, “you know as well as I do that one should never dabble in lawbreaking – it’s best to either toe the line or smash it completely.”

“Indeed,” Yoruichi agreed, teeth flashing. “Am I to understand that you are... of a similar mindset?”

“You are,” he decided. Although Will had no true master but the sea now, he had seen the signs of corruption in Soul Society. Sailor souls delivered then lost, shinigami who seemed to care more about the letter of their job than its spirit. Perhaps it was time to take action. 

“It will be risky,” Yoruichi told him, her mind obviously already whirling through different plots and calculations. “Urahara’s going to need to leave Soul Society, and he’s been injured badly enough that he can’t do it alone. His best chance for a clean escape is to sail with you on the _Flying Dutchman_ while I draw off the pursuit over land.” Yoruichi looked Will over assessingly. “Are you able to handle that? If all goes well no one should realize you’re involved, but if something goes wrong you may have to fight.”

Will glared back at her. “Don’t be stupid,” he bit out. “If it comes to a fight, it’ll be on the water. I can guarantee you that _anyone_ who messes with me on the open seas is in for a very nasty surprise.” 

“I apologize,” Yoruichi said. “It is sometimes easy to forget that shinigami are not the only spirits with power.” Will nodded, his brief flash of temper already subsiding. They stood side by side in surprisingly companionable silence a moment, gazing off the deck onto the streets of Soul Society.

“I’m going to lose a lot,” Yoruichi sighed eventually. “Power, money, my home... I’m running out on my responsibilities.” The loss of prestige wouldn’t bother her, but her responsibilities might. Even so, Will could hear in this Yoruichi beginning to distance herself from her current life. Her next words contained genuine pain, but no regret. “Soifon will never understand.” 

Will clapped a hand on her back. “Things will get better, I promise.”

“I know,” she said. “Because we are going to make it happen.” She laughed suddenly, and gave that bright, bloodthirsty smile that unnerved enemies and allies alike. “This is going to be fun! As long,” she added, teasing and sly, “as _you_ don’t get caught, Will.”

“Of course I won’t get caught,” Will said, grinning back in a way he hadn’t since Elizabeth died and took all the mischief out of the world with her. “I was a pirate long before I was a shinigami.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written in 2008 for the [no_true_pair community](http://asylums.insanejournal.com/no_true_pair/).
> 
> The more I wrote for this, the more backstory I got for these two; quite a bit of it didn't make it into this fic. Somehow, they just seemed to fit and their universes blended pretty well.


End file.
